All across the landscape of HammerSpace rippling energy fields fell into place. The concentric domes of energy surrounded Castle Anthrax for as far as the eye could see, trapping whomever dared escape Celly's wrath.

Susanne and Roger were running as fast as they could away from Castle Anthrax. "Come on!" Susanne yelled, still absently dragging Roger with her. "We've got to get out of here before anyo--Oof!!!" Susanne slammed into something and fell over, landing on Roger who was right behind her. She looked up dazedly, but saw nothing in front of her.

"What was that for?" Roger asked, shaking his head. He stood up and offered a hand to Susanne.

"What was what for? I didn't do anything. I ran into something."

Roger stepped forward. "You ran into something? There's nothing around here to run int--Ow!" Roger rubbed his nose after it slammed into seemingly thin air.

Susanne, however, saw something out of the ordinary. "Roger, do that again."

"What?"

"Step forward again."

Roger obliged and slammed into something. He raised his hands, feeling the invisible wall right in front of him. "What is this?"

From Susanne's viewpoint, she could see the slight golden glow from where Roger had his hands on the wall. "It's a barrier of some sort. When you touch it, I can see it glow from here."

"Well, it's just a wall, right?" Roger asked. "There must be a way around it, or through it." Roger pressed his hands harder against the wall and the glow increased. Finally he took a good stance and punched the wall as hard as he could. The golden glow flashed even brighter and he smiled. "I felt it give a little! Maybe you can bust through it with an energy blast."

Susanne remained doubtful. "I dunno, Rog. I don't trust that glow... But, what'll it hurt?" She prepped herself and sent a blast of energy into the wall. The glow from the wall nearly blinded them when it impacted.

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"I've got it, Mistress Celeste!" Bob exclaimed. "Sector 40-78-H! They're trying to get through the wall!"

"Ureshii!!!" Celly exclaimed, jumping up. "I'll teach them a lesson for trying to take my secrets!" She bolted out of her seat and through the doors of Special Ops, nearly running down Mamoru.

"What's going on, Celeste?"

"I don't have time to explain, ‘nii-chan. But if you want to see what happens, tell Bob to put it up on the viewscreen. Ja!"

Mamoru shook his head as he watched his sister run off to battle.

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Susanne frowned as she put her hands against the wall. "This is bad. My blast didn't do anything except set off that light."

"I guess our only option is to backtrack and try to find a way around the wall." Susanne nodded and they both turned around and set off in a direction back towards Castle Anthrax. They had barely gone ten feet when they both slammed up against another wall.

"Wha--what the hell?!?" Susanne yelled, pounding her hands against the wall, making it glow. "Another one!" A cold chill swept through her. "Roger... we're trapped."

Roger eyed the invisible wall with dread. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

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Celly quickly made her way to Sector 40-78-H. It wasn't that far off, and soon she was able to see where Hotohori no Otaku and her Guardian were trying to free themselves from the shields which trapped them. As she got closer, she called out to them and started to wave her arms.

"Hey! Minna! I'm right here!"

Celly smiled as she saw Hotohori no Otaku visibly tense up, and Roger cursed and stepped to the side, away from Susanne. Well, here's one Guardian who knows his duties, Celly thought to herself.

Susanne turned and faced Celly, scowling. Then her scowl turned to an expression of surprise as she saw Celly walked through several of the invisible walls. They glowed brightly as she stepped through, but did not hold her back. Celly finally stopped right in front of the wall holding Susanne and Roger.

"What do you want, Celly?" she asked coldly.

Celly smiled. "Oh, I dunno... maybe an ice cream sundae, or some good Chinese food. Oh wait, I know what I want... I want to win the Game!"

"Fat chance of that happening. Let us out of here."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know I can't do that." Celly kept on smiling. Gee, I haven't had this much fun in ages. "You invaded my home, you killed my minions, you killed Bob... did I mention that he's really pissed at you right at this moment?"

"Bob? But... but I..."

"Eh, death is very overrated. Now where was I? Oh, that's right. You took something from my computers. I'd very much like it back."

Susanne decided to play dumb. "Took something? I don't know what you're talking about."

Celly grinned. "Oh, you don't? Too bad." She looked up at the sky. "Bob! Close the net!" Celly turned back and giggled as she saw the energy shields glow and move closer together. Ten feet... nine feet... eight... seven... She even chuckled as she saw Susanne and Roger start to freak out at the loss of space. Six... five... four... "Bob! Stop the shields!"

"You're crazy!" Susanne exclaimed. "I told you, I don't know what you're talking about."

Celly stepped forward and her face lost the smile. "I warned you once. Are you willing to stop acting stupid? I really don't want to have to resort to fisticuffs to resolve this problem. I value my privacy very much. I don't take kindly to having people invade my home and steal from me. So, just give me back my secrets, and I'll let you go." She waited a minute as she saw Hotohori no Otaku struggle with herself. "No? Bob, close the net." Three feet... two... "Bob, stop the shields."

Celly stepped forwards again and calmly gazed at Hotohori no Otaku and her Guardian, who were squished between the shields like sardines. "We can stop all this right now. All you have to do is give me the disk."

Susanne closed her eyes, biting her lip to keep from saying anything.

Celly's eyes were touched by sadness. "I told you, I didn't want to have to hurt you." She placed her hands on the barrier and her own golden aura flared to life. "But I will if I have to." Celly shot a pulse of energy straight into the shield. The energy ricocheted between the small space between the two walls, effectively working to blast Hotohori no Otaku and her Guardian a dozen times before the pulse died out. Susanne would have fallen to her knees if it weren't for the walls holding her sandwiched up.

"Now," Celly said again calmly. "Will you give me the disk or do I keep blasting you? It's your choice."

TBC...